The federal NDP had its worst election ever. Now what?

British Columbia New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan says she’s been here before.

In 2001, Kwan was a member of the B.C. legislature when the Liberals decimated the provincial NDP government, winning 77 of 79 seats.

Kwan was one of only two New Democrats who kept their seats.

“I’m not a stranger to this environment,” Kwan said from her office in Vancouver. “We came back stronger.”

In the federal NDP’s worst performance ever, the party went into the campaign with 24 MPs and limped away from Monday’s election with just seven. Kwan is one of the survivors.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. There’s no question about it,” she said.

The NDP lost its recognized party status, which requires a minimum of 12 members in Parliament.

That will fundamentally alter the NDP’s capacity in Ottawa.

In the House of Commons, recognized status is what guarantees a political party the opportunity to ask questions of the government in every question period.

It also ensures MPs can sit on committees, where parties scrutinize and amend potential legislation.

The New Democrats will also miss out on money from the House of Commons to pay for research and extra staff. The NDP will likely have to rely on funding allotted to individual MP offices or its own party dollars. Some current employees may be laid off.

The New Democrats have only lost party status once before, in 1993.

At the time, the nine MPs asked the House of Commons to still consider them an official party, but were denied. Since then, some provincial governments have honoured similar requests.

NDP could hold balance of power

Despite these major losses, the seven remaining New Democrats may hold a position of power over the Liberal minority government.

The Liberals won 168 seats on Monday, just four shy of a majority. It means Prime Minister Mark Carney could seek the NDP’s support to pass legislation.

“We do have the balance of power. We do have the ability to make sure the government is doing things for Canadians,” Edmonton NDP MP Heather McPherson told CBC’s Power & Politics.

McPherson said the remaining MPs met on Thursday to determine next steps.

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NDP MP-elect Heather McPherson tells Power & Politics she and her six caucus colleagues will hold the Liberal government to account and prove to Canadians that New Democrats are ‘still the party for the working class.’

NDP spokesperson Anne McGrath says the party has a lot to sort out before its caucus returns to Parliament.

“It’s definitely a devastating loss,” she said.

The timeline for when the party will choose a new leader is still up in the air. Jagmeet Singh has said he would stay on until an interim leader is chosen.

“We’ll want to move very quickly on that. The interim leader will be a decision of caucus,” she said.

A process to select a new permanent leader will be announced at a later date, McGrath said.

So far, no one has put their hand up for either the temporary or permanent top job. When asked by CBC News, both McPherson and Kwan didn’t rule out a potential run.

The new leader could come from outside the House of Commons, McGrath pointed out. Singh, Jack Layton and Tommy Douglas were not sitting MPs when they won party leadership.

Building off provincial strength

The contest for who leads the NDP next could breathe new life into the party, according to Brad Lavigne, the NDP’s campaign director when the party became the Official Opposition under Layton’s leadership.

“We have to obviously renew the ranks of the party, fundraise and use the opportunity of the leadership race as a rebuilding opportunity,” Lavigne said.

Lavigne said New Democrats have had “tremendous” success at the provincial level, forming government in B.C. and Manitoba and as Official Opposition in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia. 

NDPers have also won important jobs in municipal politics — notably Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.

“The New Democratic Party is strong throughout the country,” he said. “That serves as a tremendous base from which to launch the renewal of the federal party.”

The future of the NDP hinges on who becomes the next leader, Lavigne said.

“That is going to be a battle for the soul of the party,” he said.

“It is time that we get serious again — that it is the role of the New Democratic Party of Canada not to merely make good points, but to actually build a resilient political movement in this country that will rival the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party with the ultimate goal to govern.”